CHIANG RAI – The majority of Thai population have poor personal expenses management, thus putting them in high risk of being heavily in debt, the Kenan Institute Asia said.

Kenan Institute Asia’s vice chairman Piyabutr Chonvicharn said a recent survey by the Bank of Thailand and the Finance Ministry revealed that three groups of population most at risk in piling up on debt are students, low-income people, and farmers.

Shockingly, the three groups make up at least 70% of the Thai population.

He said that these groups have poor spending habits resulted in higher household debts, which had risen from 55.6% in 2008 to an alarming 82.3% in 2013.

He said that in order to resolve the problem, Kenan Institute and the City Foundation have joined hands in a 3-year campaign to educate these groups of people, especially students.

The survey showed that the latter group’s excessive spending habit was influenced by commercial advertisements on mainstream media.

Meanwhile, Thai Financial Planners Association chairman Teera Phutrakul stated that at least 90% of Thais neither keep a record of their income and expenses, nor take the initiative to manage their finances.

Therefore, he said it is an important agenda to fix this kind of attitude in order to let the country move forward.